Copywriting tips – Finding new things to write about

As a copywriter, you need to be able to write about things that you have no interest in. If you’ve got clients that fix car engines, clean carpets or take care of elderly – it becomes your job to show an interest in the field and stay up to date (this is especially the case if you’re responsible for providing blog ideas and a content calendar). How do you do it?

The worst thing you could do is start Googling the keyword each time you want to come up with a new idea. You’ll undoubtedly be swamped with companies advertising their services – not exactly the type of stuff that allows you to come up with valuable content that the target market would want to read.

Here are a few ideas to keep your copywriting fresh:

Start following the right industry people on Twitter

If you’re only writing a few blogs a month, you don’t need to start chatting with everyone in the industry on Twitter (you’ll need to do this is you’re managing the social media accounts though). By following a few of the thought leaders in the industry on Twitter, however, you’ll be able to pick up on trends and discussion topics. You don’t have to read everything that gets posted as it happens, but if a headline catches your eye, copy the link and save it in a folder so that you have something to go back to when it’s time to start writing.

Borrow ideas

I’m not saying you should plagiarise anything, but feel free to borrow ideas. If you find a new research report, news article on opinion piece, use it as the backbone for your blog post. Discuss points you don’t agree with, research a specific part that’s interesting and make it your own by creating a new view on something that’s already been published.